Section 50. Districting Commission; composition; appointment; terms; vacancies; compensation

a. There  shall  be  a  districting  commission  consisting of fifteen members appointed as provided in this section.
    1. The council delegation of the political party which has the largest
  delegation  in the council shall, by majority vote, appoint five members
  of the commission, no more than one of whom may be  a  resident  of  the
  same borough.
    2.  The council delegation of the political party which has the second
  largest delegation in the council,  shall,  by  majority  vote,  appoint
  three  members  of  the  commission,  no  more than one of whom may be a
  resident of the same borough.
    3. If only one political party has  a  council  delegation,  then  the
  chairpersons  of  the  county  committees of the political party with no
  council delegation which, at the  time  of  the  general  election  last
  preceding  the  time at which such appointments are required to be made,
  had the largest number of enrolled voters in the city, shall each submit
  three nominations to the mayor, in order to provide a  list  of  fifteen
  nominations  from that party. The mayor shall appoint three members from
  such list, no more than one of whom  may  be  a  resident  of  the  same
  borough.
    4.  The  mayor  shall  appoint seven additional members, but the party
  enrollment, if any, of these  additional  members  shall  be  such  that
  individuals enrolled in a single political party shall not be a majority
  of the total number of members of the commission.
    5.  Officers  and  employees of the city or any city agency, lobbyists
  required to file a statement of registration  under  federal,  state  or
  local  law,  the  employees  of such lobbyists, federal, state and local
  elected officials, and officers of any  political  party  shall  not  be
  eligible to be members of the commission.
    6.  The  members  of  the  commission  shall  elect one of the fifteen
  members to serve as the chair of the commission.
    7. For purposes of this section, a  member  of  the  council  who  was
  elected  to  the  council upon the nomination of more than one political
  party shall be considered to be a member of the  council  delegation  of
  the  political party on whose ballot line he or she received the largest
  number of votes in his or her last election to the council.
    b. 1. The commission shall have among its members  (a)  at  least  one
  resident  of  each  borough,  and (b) members of the racial and language
  minority groups in New York city  which  are  protected  by  the  United
  States  voting rights act of nineteen hundred sixty-five, as amended, in
  proportion, as close as practicable, to their population in the city.
    2. The mayor, no later  than  twenty-two  months  before  the  general
  election  of  the  council  to  be held in the year nineteen hundred and
  ninety-three, and every ten years thereafter, shall convene one or  more
  meetings of all of the appointing and recommending authorities specified
  in  subdivision  a  of  this  section  for the purpose of establishing a
  screening and  selection  process  for  ensuring  that  the  racial  and
  language  minority  groups  in  New York city which are protected by the
  United States voting rights  act  of  nineteen  hundred  sixty-five,  as
  amended, will be fairly represented on the commission.
    c. Each council delegation authorized by subdivision a of this section
  to  make  appointments to the commission shall make such appointments no
  earlier than one year and eight months before, and  no  later  than  one
  year  and  six  months before, the general election of the council to be
  held in the year nineteen hundred  ninety-three,  and  every  ten  years
  thereafter.  In  any  case  in  which  the  chairpersons  of  the county
  committees of a political party are authorized to submit nominations  to
  the  mayor, such nominations shall be submitted no earlier than one year

  and eight months before, and no later  than  one  year  and  six  months
  before,  the  general  election  of  the  council to be held in the year
  nineteen hundred ninety-three, and every ten years thereafter. The mayor
  shall  make appointments to the commission after each council delegation
  authorized to make appointments has done so but not later than one  year
  and  five  months  before  such  a  general election of the council. The
  commission's term shall end sixty  days  after  the  day  of  the  first
  general election of the council following the commission's adoption of a
  districting plan, as set forth in section fifty-one.
    d. In the event of a vacancy by death, resignation or otherwise, a new
  member  enrolled  in  the  same  political  party  from which his or her
  predecessor was selected shall be appointed in the same  manner  as  the
  member  whose  departure  from the commission created a vacancy to serve
  the balance of the term remaining.
    e. No member of the  districting  commission  shall  be  removed  from
  office  except  by  the  person or persons who appointed such member and
  only for cause and upon notice and hearing.
    f. The members of the  commission  shall  serve  without  compensation
  except  that  each member shall be allowed actual and necessary expenses
  to be audited in the same manner as other city charges.
    g. The commission may hire or contract for necessary staff  assistance
  and  may  require  agencies  of  city  government  to  provide technical
  assistance. The commission shall have a budget as provided by the mayor.